Matthew 5:6

Matthew 5:6 NIV

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

It's breakfast. I'm hungry. I had a banana. It was quick. Most of my breakfasts are like that. But I crave a big country breakfast, especially on Saturdays. What do you crave?

Jesus says those who crave and are very thirsty for righteousness are blessed for they shall be satisfied. What is this righteousness for which disciples in the kingdom of Christ crave? To be righteous, biblically speaking, is to be in right standing with God. It is to be living in a condition acceptable to God. Righteousness includes the qualities of integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting. To put it simply, righteousness means to do what is right in the eyes of God.

That is the tricky part, isn't it? We all have our own opinions of what is right and wrong. Situational ethics call into question rules based righteousness. What is right in most situations may not be right in all situations. For instance when a mother's life is threatened by her pregnancy, what is the right thing to do? Is it to terminate the pregnancy to save the mother or is it to let the mother die to save the child? Most of us will not have to face such extreme choices. Our natural sense of what is right leads us. We're basically good people. But we all make mistakes. We all fall short of doing the right thing every time. We sin. We miss the mark. Either we do something we shouldn't do, or we neglect doing what we should do. And we don't all agree on what we should or shouldn't do.

For those who believe the bible is God's word, authoritative for the living of our lives, righteousness is not decided by a committee or congress. God reveals what is right and wrong in the stories, laws, letters, poetry and preaching in the 66 books of the bible. For Jews and Samaritans, the first five books, Genesis through Deuteronomy, is the Torah or the teaching. God reveals what is right and wrong in these books. When Adam and Eve did what they were told is forbidden, they sinned and were cast from paradise. When Abimelech took Sarai into his house, when she belonged to Abram, God struck him with disease. Stories like these illustrate what God says is right or wrong, good or evil. When you obey God's word and keep God's laws and observe His religious ordinances, you are righteous. When you live by the spirit of the law, you are generous, compassionate, and just. The needy are cared for by righteous people.

Since we fall short and sin, then none are righteous. The apostle Paul writes about this topic in the first 8 chapters of Romans.

Romans 3:10-12, 17-18 NIV

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

So if none of us are righteous, how can any be blessed in the kingdom of heaven? Remember that Jesus's words are about hunger and thirst, greatly desiring righteousness. It's not that we are righteous, but that we long to be made right with God. What Jesus is saying is that our desire to be made right with God and others will be satisfied in the Kingdom of Heaven.

That does not mean you have to die and go to heaven in order to be satisfied in this desire for righteousness. The Kingdom of Heaven is among us! The Kingdom of Heaven is the gathering of Christ's disciples. The community of Christ is the kingdom of God, at least a pale expression of it. Jesus teaches that the kingdom is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds in the garden and yet it grows to become the biggest of all the plants. The church is like that. It is a small beginning to a great and wonderful Kingdom future.

In the New Testament faith brings a righteousness that doesn't come from obedience to the law. Since we all fail to keep the law 100% of the time, we cannot attain full righteousness. That is why, in Christ, God made the unrighteous righteous, through the death and resurrection of Jesus. All who put their trust in Christ as saviour are made right with God, and gradually are being made righteous as God's Son is perfectly righteous.

The first sense of righteousness comes through the blood of Christ. His sacrifice upon the cross washes away the stain of our sin and makes us right before God, pure and holy. The second sense of righteousness is yet to come, yet to be satisfied. His resurrection gives us death-defying power to resist sin. Through the power of Christ we are truly free! We are free to live in the righteousness of God. And by living in the spirit of God we are empowered to become as Jesus is. That is the promise of scripture!

I don't know how many Christians you know who are exactly like Jesus, but I don't know any. I'm certainly not one of them. Let us remind ourselves again that Jesus promised satisfaction for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. We are going on toward the perfection of our souls through our journey with Jesus in the Spirit. We are righteous in the first sense through our faith in the all sufficient atoning sacrifice of Jesus. We are yet to be righteous in the second sense, made prefect like Jesus, such that every thought, word and deed comes purely from love.

As you think about your life, the way you live, how you spend your time and money, what is getting your attention and resources? Is it the righteousness of God? What do you hunger and thirst for? What do you crave? What does your life say you are working toward?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all you need will be given to you. (Mat 5:6; 6:33)

I leave you with this promise. Your hunger and thirst to be like Jesus will be satisfied.

Philippians 1:6 NIV

I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.